Haruna moved a motion to rescind the Majority's budget approval
The Majority on November 30 rescinded the Minority's rejected budget
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu has formally notified Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu that a motion he filed "is not admitted."
A two-paragraph letter responding to a Minority Motion moved by Haruna seeking to vacate a controversial approval of the 2022 budget read as follows:
"Please refer to your communication dated 7th December, 2021 on the Motion relating to a ruling of the Hon. First Deputy Speaker on Wednesday, 1st December, 2021.
"The Hon. First Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Order 13 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, has directed that I inform you that the Motion is not admitted," it added.
The letter was issued by the Parliamentary Service and signed by Cyril K. O. Nsiah, Clerk to Parliament.
It was wrongly dated "10th November 2021," and was first shared on social media on Saturday, December 11, 2021, by Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.
In an additional comment to the letter, he quoted the order Joe Wise cited to refuse the motion. “Whenever the House is informed by Clerk of the unavoidable absence of Speaker, 1st Dep Speaker shall perform the duties & exercise the authority of Speaker in relation to all proceedings until Speaker resumes the Chair”.
"Don’t doubt when we tell of what Npp can do," he added.
Why Minority moved a motion to set aside budget approval
The Minority Caucus on December 7 filed a motion in Parliament seeking to annul the ruling of the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu on the 2022 Budget.
Joseph Osei-Owusu, sitting in for Speaker Alban Bagbin, on November 30, 2021, ruled for the approval of the budget after the Minority had declined to engage in the business of the day.
Speaking on Metro TV’s ‘Good Evening Ghana’ programme on Tuesday, December 7, Mahama Ayariga said, on the day that the Majority annulled the decision of the Minority and went ahead in approving the 2022 budget statement of Ghana, the Minority Caucus decided not to participate in the proceedings of the House because they thought when Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker is presiding over the House, then they will not have the quorum to annul and approve the budget.
“The position of the Minority was that, the First Deputy Speaker, when he sits as Speaker cannot count himself as part of the at least half. So, the Minority strategy was to stay out, not to even come, so that there is no quorum right the beginning and then they will not even get at least half.
“And so, whatever they will do, the Minority will also question that on the basis that they also do not have at least half as they are claiming the Minority do not have. So that was the strategy that informed the decision of the Minority to stay out on Tuesday, November 30, 2021,” he explained.
Ayariga added that, on the day the Majority annulled and approved the budget that the Minority had rejected, the First Deputy Speaker counted himself as part of the quorum and “insisted that once he is not the main Speaker but a Deputy Speaker and an MP, he forms part of the MPs; so, there is a quorum of 138 to take a decision…”
Parliament on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, approved the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government presented by Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta on November 17 in the absence of MPs from the Minority.
This was upon a motion by Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, and a vote by the House, the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu ruled that the earlier decision by the House to reject the Budget was in error and in violation of Article 104 (1) and caused it to be expunged from the records.
Parliament then proceeded to consider the motion on the budget and subsequently approved it.
Joseph Osei-Owusu is first Deputy Speaker of Parliament